Date
by DragonWriterZZ
Summary: Thanks to Gabriel and Matt's semi-lie about an upcoming report on dating, Jonas gets the honor of taking Kira on a date. Pre-Messenger. Oneshot. Jonas/Kira.


**So, can you tell I like **_**the Giver**_** series yet? XD My favorite time period would be post-**_**Gathering**__**Blue**_**, but pre-**_**Messenger**_**. That's exactly what this is! ;D AND I FINISHED "**_**SON**_**" TODAY! 8D Such a good story. Everyone needs to read it! [12-14-12]**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do NOT own **_**the Giver**_** or any of its FABULOUS characters. It'd be cool if I did, though…ha ha. :)**

_**IMPORTANT!**_** Jonas isn't "Leader" yet, so don't be looking for that, k? ;D**

**-\[=]/-**

A sixteen-year-old Jonas was stalking down the path in Village, holding Gabriel's hand as he walked him to school. He still lived with Seer, who took excellent care of them. Speaking of him, his daughter, Kira, was visiting in only a week. It was about a three day trip to get to he own village, so Matt took at least six days to get there and back. Jonas found himself counting how long it would be until Kira arrived. He watched the young, nine-year-old Matt leave six days before. He was due back that night.

"Jonas," the four-year-old named Gabriel began, "where did Matt go? Is he going far?"

"He's picking up Kira," Jonas replied. "They'll be here in a few more hours."

"Oh," Gabriel acknowledged, nodding his head.

Jonas noticed Mentor waiting outside with his daughter, Jean, at his side. When she caught sight of Gabriel, she beamed as she lifted him in the air and giggled at him, causing him to sheepishly chuckle. Jonas waved at Mentor and Jean as he walked away, returning to Seer's abode. As he walked down the path, he shoved his hands in his pockets, smiling softly when people would wave at him.

Jonas was always happy to live in a place as nice as Village. The people were sweet, intelligent, and were always so welcoming and friendly. Heck, if Seer—Christopher—had not brought Jonas and Gabriel into his home, they would have died in the snow.

As he waltzed down the path to Christopher's home, he looked at the entrance to Forest. He craned his neck back just a bit, checking if Matt and Kira were anywhere near Village at that point. He sighed, discovering nothing new. He continued stalking home, finding Christopher feeling for herbs. He chuckled softly as he took a knee and greeted his guardian.

"Oh, hello Jonas," Christopher snickered. "How did Gabe take school today?"

"Rather well," Jonas chuckled in reply, helping him find the correct plants to pluck from the ground. "Is it the rosemary you're trying to get?"

"Yes," he replied thankfully. "He didn't throw a tantrum or cry today?"

"Not once," Jonas sighed in relief as he yanked out a clump of rosemary. "He must be getting used to Jean and Mentor."

"I don't see why not," Christopher laughed as he held up his straw-woven basket for Jonas to dump the rosemary into. "I know little Matty has taken a slight liking to Jean, too. That could be why."

"He looks up to Matty," he smirked, not that the blind man could see it. "I think I'm more of his brother-figure."

"Or father," he countered, showing his own funny smirk. "Just because I house you both doesn't make me his father figure, you know."

"Yes, that's true," he laughed. "So, would you like to be his grandfather?"

"I'm not _that_ old, am I?" Seer joked with the young man, ruffling his hair.

They stood up and walked into the home, settling the rosemary on the small counter in the kitchen. Christopher directed Jonas what to put in the stew and how to make it. Usually, Matt would be in charge of such a thing, but he was the only one the forest seemed to like. Jonas never understood it, but he accepted it, as did the rest of Village. Not only did it accept Matt, but whenever someone was _with_ Matt, it trusted them as well. It was amazing.

Jonas sliced up an onion, diced it, and tossed it into the stew with the other vegetables. He filled a spoon and fed it to Christopher. He tasted it aloud, making a funny noise with his lips. He laughed at the boy and nodded his head, approving of the stew. Jonas smiled and took the stew off the burner, turned off the stove, and decided to start cooking again when Gabriel was done with school and Matt was around his last hour in Forest.

He sighed happily and moved to the couch with Seer, who pulled out his instrument, tuning it before playing a small melody. Jonas tapped his foot to it, enjoying the rhythm Christopher was composing with it. Ever since he had arrived, he had always enjoyed listening to the blind man. It made such wonderful music. A soft smile spread across Christopher's face as he heard Jonas's foot tapping. A slight chuckle escaped him, signaling he was happy.

**-\[=]/-**

Later that day, Jonas went to the schoolhouse in order to pick up Gabriel. He was playing with his best friend, Nathaniel, outside. It almost hurt him to break up the fun, but the fair-haired boy told Gabriel it was time to go. With a slight sigh, he nodded and took hold of Jonas's hand. He waved a short goodbye to his friend—it was returned as Nathaniel dashed home—and continued to Seer's place with Jonas.

"How was school today, Gabe?" Jonas queried as he slightly looked down at the young boy.

"Good," Gabriel responded. "We learned more colors and about things called 'dates'."

"Like the fruit?" Jonas queried.

"No," Gabriel shook his head. "It's like courting, except not."

Jonas thought over the answer for quite a bit. Courting, but not courting? He had no idea what that meant. Gabriel continued on, saying Mentor told them what it was because a boy named Simon had inquired what it was. Jonas shook off the thought and continued talking to the younger boy.

"How was learning about colors?" he queried.

"Ok," he shrugged in reply.

"Do you have a new favorite?"

"No," Gabriel nearly gasped. "I love green!"

Jonas snickered at the young boy as they arrived at their home. He opened the door for Gabriel before looking over his shoulder and at Forest. There was still nothing there. He sighed quickly before deciding to go inside himself.

When he entered, he saw Gabriel on the counter, telling Christopher some sort of story. Jonas chuckled softly before deciding he would listen also. He sat in a chair at the dinner table and intently listened to the young one's tale. It was all about a girl he knew, named Deirdre.* Jonas smirked before looking at Christopher, who was trying to stifle small snickers.

"So," Jonas began as he stood up and lifted Gabriel from the counter, settling him in a chair, "do you _like_ Deirdre, Gabe?"

Gabriel, blushing a bit around the cheeks, immediately denied it. He said they were just friends. Jonas rolled his eyes and laughed. Gabriel frowned a bit, folding his arms across his chest. Christopher ruffled his hair in an attempt to tell him they were just joking. Gabriel settled down and dragged the cards out of the middle of the table before looking at the clock.

"When will Matt and Kira be here?" Gabriel asked in his small voice, rifling through the cards in his hands.

"They should be here in an hour or so," Jonas said, gingerly taking the cards from Gabriel's hands and shuffling them correctly. "I thought they'd be here by the time school ended for you, Gabriel."

"Well," he sighed sadly, propping his elbow on the table and resting his head in his palm, "it'd be nice if they had."

"Yep," the eldest boy replied.

He dealt the cards and asked what game Gabriel wanted to play. That always seemed to be a trick question with the youngest one. Gabriel was extremely fond of the game Go Fish. Ever since he and Jonas arrived, he had loved the game. When Jonas was only thirteen-years-old, Mentor had taught him how to play very many card games. He did the same for Gabriel just a year ago, but his favorite was always the easiest one: Go Fish.

They played the game for an hour or so before there was a knock at the door. Jonas and Gabriel dismissed their game for the moment and dashed to the door. Christopher came out of a bedroom and chuckled, waiting for the boys to open the door and greet the visitor. When the door was ajar, Gabriel nearly screamed, noticing that it was Matt and Kira.

"We're back!" Matt happily interjected, stepping in with Kira and his dog, Branch, as he did so.

Ever since Matt had moved to Village, he had been learning correct grammar. He had improved quite a bit for the years he had been there. As Matt and Gabriel wandered to the kitchen, Jonas offered to help Kira walk in. He smiled when seeing her again; she did the same. They went to the kitchen with the other two and Christopher followed them. He leaned over and hugged his daughter, who jolted a bit before smiling and hugging back.

"I missed you, Father," she giggled.

"I missed you, too, Kira," he smiled out as she led him to a chair in the kitchen.

Jonas stood from his chair, offering it to Kira, and settled the stew back on the burner. He turned up the heat and stirred as everyone started talking.

"What did you do in school today, Gabe?" Matt inquired as he poured a portion of dog food into Branch's bowl.

"It was ok," Gabriel replied with a shrug.

"Hey," Jonas began, "Gabe, tell Matt, Kira, and Christopher what you told me you learned this afternoon."

"The colors or the date thing?" he inquired.

"Date thing," Jonas stated as the stew began to boil and steam floated from it. "I want to see if they know what that is."

"Oh, so Mentor was talking to our class today," Gabriel stated, "and Simon asked him what a date was. Mentor told us that a date was like courting, but it wasn't."

"I thought a date was a fruit," Matt indicated with a cocked brow as he sat next to Kira. "It isn't?"

"It's also helps you keep up with years and days and months," Christopher added.

"It's both of those," Gabriel confirmed with a nod, "but it's also something you do before you court."

"So," Kira began her question, "it's like a ring or bracelet or something that you give the person?"

"No, no, no," Gabriel said, shaking his head slowly, "it's not the engagement or the court. It's like…a _test_, I suppose."

"A test?" Jonas queried as he quirked a brow upward as he stirred the stew around. "A test for what?"

"It's like testing to see if you'd be a good couple," he affirmed, but quickly added, "but Mentor says that it doesn't involve intimacy, whatever that means."

Jonas stifled a snicker, holding just a smirk whilst Kira flushed, a bright crimson on her face. Christopher chuckled a bit. Mat wondered what was so funny. All Gabriel said was "intimacy." Why would that be so funny? Jonas knew what it was because he had asked Christopher, who explained it gently to him when he had first arrived. Jonas had always known that children in the Community were manufactured, basically. No one had gotten to the point of telling Matt, though. He quickly dismissed it as they continued the conversation.

"So, you do a date when you like someone?" Matt inquired.

"Yes," Gabriel nodded, "but, apparently, you only do it when someone likes you back. When the first one is successful, they become things called boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Oh," Jonas began, "I see. How did Mentor know that?"

"He reads a lot of books," Gabriel confirmed. "Almost as much as you do, Jonas."

"That's a lot of books," Christopher laughed.

"Did I explain well?" Gabriel inquired a bit sheepishly.

"Yes," Jonas chuckled as he came to him and ruffled his hair. "Thanks, Gabe."

"You're welcome," he smiled.

They dined that night on stew, talking about most anything. Matt described his, Kira's, and Branch's trip through Forest and back. It was smooth sailing, as it always was. It was a true gift Matt had. Forest disliked many, many people, choosing to tear them to shreds, but it held a special liking to Matt. Kira explained that the Gathering in her village had gone smoothly, as usual, but it was also very long and tedious.

Matt agreed with her. He had arrived in the village just when the extremely long ceremony began. He sat on the set of stairs the entire time, watching Kira look as bored as he did. When he had arrived, he waved ecstatically at Kira, who smiled back. The entire time, he was mimicking the Council's angry faces. He loved making Kira happy.

"Has your village gotten any better?" Jonas inquired curiously as he spun his spoon around in his bowl.

"Quite a bit, actually," Kira smiled. "A wicked woman named Vandara is gone. The people in my village were upset with the way she treated tykes and everyone around her. She decided to have some sort of affair with a man named Jamison"—Christopher only slightly winced at the name—"and both of them were brought to the Field. People assume the Beasts have gotten them by now."

"Hey," Matt began, "I saw Thomas sitting with the Council today. Is he with them now?"

"Yes, actually," Kira replied. "Once Jamison was out, they needed to appoint someone. Since Vandara was _also_ gone, they decided that Thomas would be a perfect shoe-in. He's convinced the Council that he, Jo, the Singer, and I don't have to be trapped in that awful building anymore. We get more freedom."

"So you have your own cot now?" Christopher inquired, eyes wide.

"Yes," she grinned out happily. She then turned her attention to Jonas. "Was your village like mine in any way?"

"We didn't have freedom," he answered. "We had so many rules that were hard to follow. We weren't allowed to have our own children, we couldn't love or pick our own spouse, all of our conversations were monitored by our committee, we had a Ceremony of Twelve…it was awful."

"I'm sorry," she replied, a bit wide-eyed.

"It's ok," Jonas chuckled. "At least Gabe and I got out. And they _must_ be better by now. Or at least have had a taste of it."

"How," Gabriel inquired, "I thought they were bad people."

"They were confused," Jonas explained to him. "They didn't know what they were doing half the time. And they should be better because their last Receiver of Memory left. Once the Receiver is gone, it takes quite a while to find a new one. If everyone has the memories, they could probably live normally again."

"But wouldn't they establish a new Receiver at some point?" Matt asked.

"Yes," Jonas nodded, "but at least there's a little bit of time with the memories. Maybe if they like it, they'll do some sort of vote or overthrow our council. But you never know, so it's very dangerous for us to ever go back. I have no idea how it affected them."

"And we left because they wanted to hurt me?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes," Jonas sighed with a frown before smiling and ruffling his hair, "but we got you to a safe place."

Gabriel smiled and continued to eat his stew. After they were finished, Kira and Matt stated they were going to bed. That was understandable. They had walked for so long. It only made sense that they would be tired. Jonas collected everybody's dishes and washed them. Christopher offered to sleep on the couch so Jonas could have his bed. Jonas declined it, saying he would sleep on the small couch in the next room.

There was always a process when it came to more than four people at Christopher's home. They didn't mind, though; they all loved Kira to bits and were more than happy when she visited. Usually, the system would be like this: Kira occupied Jonas and Gabriel's room. The first time she visited, she offered to take the couch, allowing Jonas and Gabriel to sleep in their own bed. It took quite a bit of time for them to convince her to do so, but she finally surrendered, taking the bed.

So, while Kira slept in their room, Matt occupied his own room, taking Gabriel in with him. Gabriel always needed someone to be with him during the night. He never slept very soundly unless someone was with him. Matt was more than happy to be there for the boy. Christopher usually slept in his own bed, but offered it to Jonas quite a bit. In all truth, the blind man was much too tall to sleep on the couch. Jonas knew that and made it very clear that he had no problem with the piece of furniture.

"Well, Gabe," Jonas chuckled out, "Matt's in bed. Are you ready to go to sleep yet?"

"It's only six, though!" Gabriel countered.

"I know," Jonas laughed, "but you've seemed tired all day."

Gabriel sighed, came up to Jonas, hugged him, hugged Christopher, and rushed to bed with Matt. Jonas chuckled as he dried the last bowl and set it in the cupboard. Christopher stood up and stretched, walking toward Jonas. He clapped his hand to his shoulder and smiled. Jonas smiled back at him, although he couldn't see it. Christopher had considered Jonas more of son than a life debt that the boy needed to pay back.

He felt the same way about Matt and Gabriel, too. However, everyone knew of Gabe's plans to go to the Boys-Lodge when he got older. Christopher would never be alone, though. Even when Jonas was old enough and would move out, Matt and Kira would still belong to Christopher.

"Are you going to bed, Jonas?" Christopher inquired.

"I may as well," Jonas snickered. "Everyone else is."

"True," the blind man laughed, patting Jonas's back before retreating to his room. "Good night."

"Good night," Jonas called.

**-\[=]/-**

Jonas woke up at four in the morning to Kira, who was stirring some rosemary into a drink. He yawned, stood from the couch, and sauntered toward her. He was still tired, but didn't seem to be able to sleep. He muttered her name, which only startled her a tiny bit. She sighed in relief when she found it was only Jonas. That made him smile just a bit. He softly chuckled before apologizing. She giggled at him, accepting it.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" she queried, looking a bit regretful.

"No, no," Jonas affirmed. "I just went to sleep a little too early."

"Oh," Kira nodded, "so did I. It was just the walk here."

"I can understand," he smiled as they sat at the table together. She laid her cane in the small slot that connected the seat and the back of the chair that was next to her. "Not to be rude, but how did you quietly get in here without the cane making so much noise?"

"Oh," she replied, "I've had it my whole life. I figured that if I'm not in a hurry, I can just slowly place it on the ground when I walk. The slower, the softer."

"That's smart of you," he complimented.

He silently watched her swirl her rosemary in her drink. He couldn't make out what it was in the dark, but he knew it was something either black or brown. It seemed odd to him that someone would put herbs in their drinks. However, Kira and Christopher _did_ know a few things about plants and gardens. He assumed her mother did, too. Kira and Christopher had some obvious differences, so he figured whatever she didn't get from him was just her mother's genes shining. Either way, he found her amazing.

'

"Does that taste good?" he suddenly inquired.

"It does to me," she replied, pulling the herb out of her drink. "Would you like to try it?"

"You don't mind drinking after people?" he queried, his eyes a bit wide.

No one in the Community drank after someone else. Or at least he didn't _think_ they did. It sounded like sharing a kiss to him, which, obviously, was against Community rules. He didn't think _spouses_ could even kiss. Yet, Kira shook her head, pushing the cup toward him. He took a small sip of the fluid before setting it back down on the table. The rosemary made the drink taste quite good, whatever it was.

"That's amazing," Jonas stated. "How did you think of that?"

"Sometimes I just mix things," she answered, blushing a bit. "Do you really like it?"

"Yes," he smiled.

She smiled back before sipping it herself. She lowered the cup and watched Jonas, who was staring at her eyes. She couldn't say she wasn't doing the same thing. She had always liked his eyes. They were such a dazzling blue, which made them hard to turn away from. She had blue eyes herself, and they were bright, too, but his were just so amazing. After a moment, Kira noticed that she was staring at him the same way he stared at her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, looking down at her hands that cupped her mug.

"It's ok," Jonas smiled as he embarrassedly noticed he had been staring at her, too. "It reminds me of when we first met. Remember?"

"Yes, I do," Kira giggled and her cheeks turned a rosy color, not that Jonas could see anyway. "It's just that I don't see blue very often. You have the most incredible blue eyes I've ever seen."

"Thank you," Jonas said, blushing for himself.

They were quiet for a while, feeling each other's presence. Jonas fiddled with his hands for a moment as Kira swirled the liquid in her cup around for the exact same moment. After they were done with their awkward silence, they began to chuckle. They stopped only to begin a conversation.

"So," Kira sighed happily as she began the conversation, "people in your Community had things called Birthmothers, right?"

"Yes," Jonas nodded. "They were the only people besides the Receiver of Memory that weren't allowed to take their pills."

"Then they felt love?" Kira queried.

"Well, they probably did," Jonas shrugged as he leaned forward, "but they were only allowed to stay off their pills during pregnancy. Right after the birthing process, they were put back on pills."

"Oh," Kira nodded her head. "That makes sense. So, the Birthmother had the child, then it was taken from them, and given to spouses?"

"Yes," Jonas replied. "I've heard stories of a Birthmother that escaped, but they must be rumors. They started around the time I took Gabriel out of the Community with me."*

"It'd be interesting," Kira stated, "but it'd be upsetting, too. It's like forced adoption."

"Exactly," Jonas replied, a slight smile on his face. "In your village, were there marriages and biological babies?"

"Well, yes _and_ no," she responded. "Some people married and purposely had babies. My parents were married and had me, so that's one example. Then there were people, like Vandara, who didn't like the tykes they had. I think she was married, but didn't respect her marriage, and obviously she didn't like her children. And then there were people like the ones Matt came from. Some people got married, some didn't. Some people had babies purposely, some didn't. It was an odd, _odd_ mixture."

"Oh, I see," Jonas nodded. "What was your mother like?"

"Well, her name was Katrina. She was an excellent seamstress—she could make anything with a needle and thread, really—and she's the one who made the Council of Edifice keep me alive when I was born," she stated, "so she was brave and smart. She was strong, too. I also thought she was very pretty."

She held a soft, sad smile for a while. Jonas suddenly felt terrible for asking her to recall her mother for him. He leaned over a bit and patted the back of her hand, trying to console her. She looked up at him and gave an even bigger smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Jonas said softly. "And, if it helps, I think you're pretty, too."

That caused Kira to blush excessively. She thanked him and they continued to silently talk. Little did they know that two people were standing just behind the corner in the hallway, listening to every word they said. A smirk crawled across the boy with the shaggy hair's face, as did the one with the pale, pale blue eyes. They tip-toed back to the elder one's room, settling themselves on their bed.

"Are we going to interfere?" Gabriel inquired.

"Yes, my little Gabriel," Matt chuckled sinisterly, "yes we are."

**-\[=]/-**

The next morning, Jonas waltzed down the hallway to check on everyone. Kira had gone to bed at about four-forty-five in the morning, as did Jonas. However, Jonas woke up again at about eight in the morning. He opened his bedroom door, finding Kira curled up in ball on his bed. He thought it was a bit cute, so he let her stay in bed. He silently closed the door and made his way to the dining room where Christopher, Matt, and Gabriel were sitting.

"Hey Jonas," Matt smirked, "how'd you sleep at four in the morning?"

Jonas looked at the boy with his brow cocked upward. He settled himself in the seat next to Seer, who was looking nowhere, like usual. Gabriel was smirking the exact way Matt was. Ever since Gabriel had met Matt, he became a bit more mischievous than usual. The only problem with it was the fact that they gave each other ideas that were more troublesome than they should have been.

"What are you both up to?" Jonas inquired with a sigh.

"Are you going to ask Kira out on a _date_?" Gabriel droned the word "date" out for a few seconds before giggling.

Luckily, Christopher couldn't see the blush that came across Jonas's face.

"Why would I be asking Kira out on a date with me?" he queried.

"We heard you call her pretty around four-thirty this morning," Matt laughed. "We think you like her."

"Do you?" Gabriel snickered.

Jonas felt his face getting hotter and hotter. If he hadn't lived with the two of them, he probably could have gotten away with calling Kira pretty and not getting caught. However, that was _not_ how life worked out. He loved the two very, very much, but they knew how to press his buttons when they wanted to.

"Jonas," Christopher began, "if you wanted to go ahead and date my daughter, you have my permission to ask her."

What was up with these people, Jonas thought. They had all learned the word only yesterday! Jonas found it amazing how quickly they adapted to the new word in the vocabulary. Now, obviously, each one of them was able to see he had a crush on Kira. It was dead-on, really. But, honestly, why should anyone other than him, Kira, and Christopher have any say in what he did and didn't do about it? However, as it was stated before, that was _not_ how life worked out.

"Well," he sighed, deciding to surrender and come clean, "I wouldn't really know how to."

"Leave that to us," Matt snickered.

"How?" Jonas queried curiously.

"I could say it's a school assignment," Gabriel smirked. "I'm _really_ good at that. I could tell her that I need two people to go out on a date and turn in a report about it."

"Would you really," Jonas asked as Gabriel nodded. "Ok. But I want you to tell Mentor that you want to give the report. But don't say names! I don't like you lying."

"Yes sir," he replied, immediately running out the door to see Mentor.

Jonas smiled as he watched the youngest boy rush out to find his schoolteacher. He noticed Matt looking out the window. He thought he was watching Gabriel run, but he noticed that Matt was staring at a certain girl. Matt had liked a girl named Jean ever since he'd gotten to Village. She was Mentor's daughter and was always afraid of getting caught by her father just because he liked her.

However, Jonas knew that Mentor wouldn't be angry with Matt. Mentor loved all of his students very, very much. And he loved Matt. He never understood why he was so terrified of him when it came to such a subject. Matt excused himself from the table and ran out to talk to Jean (with Branch following him, of course), which amused Jonas. Once the boys has left, Jonas sat silently next to Christopher.

"So," Christopher began, "you like my daughter?"

"It's a crush, yes," Jonas muttered, his eyelids closing half of his piercing blue orbs. He looked up at Seer. "Are you upset?"

"No," Christopher chuckled as he found Jonas's hair with his hand. "I always wondered what kind of boy was interested."

He knew Seer wouldn't be able to notice, but he was smiling. He felt happy to have a father figure such as Christopher. Moments later, Kira came out, her cane lightly tapping the floor. She smiled as she took a seat across from them both.

"Good morning," she greeted them both. "Where are the boys?"

"They went to visit Mentor and Jean," Jonas explained. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well," she stated. "How did the two of you sleep?"

"Very well," Christopher chuckled.

"The same," Jonas replied.

After a few minutes, Gabriel waltzed through the door and whistled. He sat next to Kira and smiled at her with large puppy dog eyes. Kira giggled softly at him. She was aware of how sweet he could be. That was her only problem though, Jonas thought, she overlooked the fact that Gabriel always seemed to be up to something. She smiled down at him and he did the same to her, except he looked like Branch when he was begging for a treat.

"What's the matter, Gabe?" she inquired.

"Well, Mentor gave an assignment over the weekend, about the date thing," he stated. "He said to give a report about two people who went on a date. The only problem is, I've never actually _seen_ or _heard_ of anyone going on a date. So, can you and Jonas go on one for me?"

"Well," Kira began, "only if Jonas is ok with it."

"Jonas?" Gabriel asked the way a beggar would.

"I'll do it," he replied slowly.

**-\[=]/-**

"Ok, so in this book"—Gabriel showed them the book in his hand that Mentor had given him a copy of—"it says that the boy comes up to the girl and asks her out."

Gabriel had gotten the two of them to follow his every command. Of course, Jonas was enjoying this. Although, he didn't know that Kira was actually looking forward to it. Not knowing this, Jonas felt a bit of guilt hit him like a tidal wave. Gabriel finished reading to them about what to do on a date. He instructed them to tell him all they did once they were done with the date. He went inside the abode, settled himself next to Matt and told him it was the beginning of smooth sailing.

"So," Jonas began sheepishly. "Kira, would you like to go on a date with me?"

"I suppose so," she giggled happily, taking his hand and walking with him.

As they stalked down the trail, hand-in-hand, Jonas started to think of what he could do. Where would he bring her on their date? He noticed he was walking past Matt and Jean, who were talking about something. He decided they could talk while they walked somewhere.

"What do you want to talk about?" Jonas inquired.

"Anything, I guess," Kira smiled. "Go ahead and say anything you want."

"Uh, ok," he replied. He thought of something. "Colors have always interested me. I know you love blue, but do you have a favorite shade of it?"

"Good question," she giggled, thinking over the question for a bit. "I like the color that _your_ eyes are; that piercing, pale blue. It's just so beautiful. It reminds me of the sky when it's a calm and peaceful day."

"Thank you," he replied as his ears turned a light pink.

"You're welcome," she responded, the tops of her cheeks a bit rosy. "What's your favorite color?"

"I guess it'd be red," he smiled. "The first color I ever saw was red. It was an apple, too, but a dark one. It was almost blood red."

"I've always thought red was a pretty color," Kira stated. "Did they not have color in the Community?"

"No," Jonas confirmed. "They called being able to see color: 'being able to see beyond.' It's become more of a gift to literally see beyond now, though."

"You have a gift, too?" Kira ecstatically inquired. "I can make images with my hands. I mean, I can do it while sewing and know what I want to happen in it, but it's like something takes over my hands and draws out what is happening or what's _about_ to happen."

"That's astounding," he gaped.

Jonas got the strangest urge to take Kira to the park. They could continue talking on the swings; that would be fun, he thought. He guided her to the playground where the swings dangled from the long bar that held them above the ground. He helped her sit in a chair as he took his own, swaying his legs back and forth very slowly. She did the same as she giggled.

"I like swings," she stated, "they've always been so fun."

"I like them, too," Jonas smiled. "So, are you looking forward to Christmas?"

"Oh, yes," Kira confirmed, nodding vigorously. "I just _love_ Christmas!"

"I do, too," Jonas agreed. "When I first came here, we celebrated it and I was so happy."

He reminisced how glad he was the day he find out the Village celebrated Christmas. It was something he enjoyed. He loved the deeper meaning, the smiles, the family, the giving, the snow…. It was something he loved oh so much. He remembered that it was only five or six days before Christmas that he arrived in Village. He bounced up and down, hugged Christopher, and thanked him a million times before letting go.

"Are you going to visit for Christmas this year?" Jonas inquired.

"I should be able to, yes," Kira nodded in reply. "Thomas has helped change our village, so if I'm sure he'd convince the Council to let me visit."

"Good," he smiled, "we love it when you're here!"

That wasn't a lie. Every one of them _did_ love it when Kira visited. However, Jonas held a special excitement whenever he heard of Kira coming to see them. He'd always grin so wide before losing it and telling Matt to be careful when he went through Forest. He knew that Matt saw it, though. He'd always smirk and say "I'll tell Kira to be careful, too." Obviously, this made him a bit embarrassed, but he got over it quickly and quietly.

Jonas and Kira ended up talking about family and babies. He knew that Kira liked children. They held some sort of entertainment trance with her. That led to talking about Matt and Gabriel. Jonas and Kira had always loved Matt and Gabriel; they were basically family. They spoke about how mischievous and troublesome the two could be, but they loved them anyhow.

"I have something to tell you," he confessed with a slight sigh, "and it involves Matt and Gabe."

"Go ahead," she encouraged.

"Alright," he began, looking down. "This isn't really a project for Gabriel…_or_ a report. They know that I have a crush on you, so he and Matt set this up for me because they thought—_we_ all thought you'd say no if I asked alone."

"Why would you ever think that?"

"Well, I think you're a little too…_good_ for me. Maybe you had someone else waiting—like Thomas or someone—and didn't want to have to bother with me," he said, "so this was their way of getting me a date." He looked up at her with a sheepish smile. "I'm pretty lame, huh? Using two kids to get my dates for me. I would understand if you were mad at—"

He was cut off by Kira gingerly pulling on his arm. She quickly rushed to kiss him before letting go of his arm. His eyes were as wide as saucers when he looked at her. She giggled softly as she blushed. He chuckled with her, blushing even more than she had. After laughing for a bit, they finally began their conversation again.

"Jonas," Kira started, "I like you a lot. I was so happy when Gabe asked me to do this for him."

"Really?" he ecstatically queried.

"Yes," she giggled. "And I had fun."

"I did, too."

With that, they stood up and stalked home together. The date was over and Jonas was the happiest he had been in such a long time. Hand-in-hand, they arrived at the door to the house. He opened the door up, ushered her in, and closed it behind them. They noticed that Matt and Gabriel were asleep on the couch. Kira giggled softly, walking toward the table. Jonas pulled the chair out for her before sitting in his own.

"I think they were waiting up," he smirked, "and then got bored."

"Me, too," she whispered before looking at him. "Thanks for the date, Jonas."

"Thanks for letting me take you," he replied.

"I think I'll go to bed now," she smiled as she got up, "goodnight."

"Goodnight," he responded.

As Kira wobbled to Jonas's room and closed the door, Seer walked out of his own with a mug of tea. Jonas smiled at him, propping his elbow on the table with his head in his palm. He knew Christopher wanted to know how it went. However, Jonas took his time getting to that answer. One of his favorite things in the world was a good memory. He was just letting the memory of his first kiss linger for a moment. He quite liked it.

"It went very well," he told Christopher. "Thank you for letting me take her."

"Thank _you_," he replied. "I love those who love my daughter."

Jonas took his time with that word. "Love" was a very strong feeling you held for people. He loved Gabriel, Christopher, Matt, Branch…did he _love_ Kira? Yes, he thought in confirmation, yes he _did_ love Kira. She was perfect in his eyes. If she was used or taken by anyone else, he'd become angry. However, all he wanted for her was for her to be happy. He reclined in his wooden chair, bringing his knees to his chin. He did that half-lidded smile again.

"Yes," Jonas whispered, "and I'll always love her."

**-\[=]/-**

**So, there you have it. :) Sometimes, I can make these really long ones, sometimes I can't. XD I'm weird like that. **

***1: Deirdre is a girl from the book **_**Son**_**. Gabriel has a crush on her. **

***2: The rumor of the escaped Birthmother is just something I semi-thought of. In **_**Son**_**, when Claire "escaped," I wondered if some sort of rumor was started about her. I didn't know if they only focused on Gabe and Jonas or not. Maybe they noticed Claire was missing, too?**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! 8D REVIEW! Now I have to study for history. XD Bye~!**


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